"It was definitely time," the 37-year-old Ellis said. "My kids are getting older and I kind of realized it was time to do something else." Ellis spent 12 years in the majors, nine of which came with the Athletics. He was a member of the Cardinals in 2014, but was limited to just 73 games due to an oblique injury.

Athletics general manager Billy Beane said Ellis was a "consummate professional" when he played, and has a job waiting for him if he ever wants to return to the game. "After some deserved time with Sarah and his children, I’m hopeful, when he is ready, Mark will continue his baseball career with the A’s," Beane said.

Cardinals infielder Mark Ellis was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique Tuesday, the team announced. Ellis was unavailable for the team's last three games with unspecified soreness, and it is not clear when he suffered this injury.